Racial Comparisons of the Grandmother Role: Implications for Strengthening the Family Support System of Older Black Women

Abstract

This research was in response to the needfor more information on the ethnic diversity of the grandmother role and the implications for strengthening the support network of older black women. The subjects consisted of 79 black grandmothers and 87 white grandmothers 65 years of age or older. The results of the research show cultural distinctions in the grandmother role and suggest ways in which this diversity can be used to strengthen the support system of older rural black women, a significant percentage of whom fall below the poverty level.